Operations Manager

The Operations Manager is the senior executive responsible for building, leading, and scaling all manufacturing operations at Freeberg Industrial Fabrication's Eloy, Arizona facility—a new, approximately 160,000-square-foot production site established to manufacture Data Center reciprocating engine backup power systems and a full range of sheet metal and weldment fabrications. This role is a ground-floor leadership opportunity: the facility will begin with a small core team and grow aggressively, ultimately staffing 200 or more employees across two to three production shifts.

The Operations Manager owns the full operational footprint of the Eloy facility, including all manufacturing work centers (laser, forming, welding, grinding, paint, and electro-mechanical assembly), as well as the functional departments of Safety, Human Resources, Quality, Manufacturing Engineering, IT, and Production Floor Management. Engineering design authority remains at Freeberg headquarters in Escondido, California; the Operations Manager is responsible for translating those designs into high-quality, on-time production output while building the culture, systems, staffing, and operational infrastructure needed to support sustained rapid growth.

The ideal candidate is a proven manufacturing executive with deep experience building production operations from the ground up, a strong track record of leading diverse teams through rapid scaling, and the leadership character to establish a culture of safety, quality, continuous improvement, and accountability from day one. This role reports directly to the President.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Facility Launch and Operations Startup

Lead all aspects of standing up the Eloy manufacturing facility from initial staffing through full-scale production operations. Key responsibilities include:

• Develop and execute a comprehensive facility launch plan covering staffing, equipment commissioning, work center configuration, workflow design, safety program establishment, and quality system implementation.
• Establish all foundational operational infrastructure: production scheduling systems, ERP workflows, shop floor management processes, standard operating procedures, and documented work instructions across all work centers.
• Partner with headquarters engineering and production control leadership to align facility workflows, planning documentation, and reporting systems with company-wide standards and ERP architecture.
• Drive aggressive but structured hiring across all functional areas and production departments, coordinating with HR to recruit, onboard, and develop the workforce needed to support rapid revenue growth.
• Commission and qualify all production equipment across laser, forming, welding, grinding, paint, and electro-mechanical assembly work centers, ensuring equipment readiness and operator certification prior to production start.

Manufacturing Operations Management

Direct the day-to-day execution of all production operations to achieve delivery, quality, safety, and cost performance targets. Key responsibilities include:

• Oversee all production work centers—laser cutting, press brake forming, welding and fabrication, grinding, paint and surface treatment, and electro-mechanical assembly—ensuring efficient, safe, and high-quality output across all shifts.
• Direct the Shop Floor Manager and work center leads in translating the master production schedule into daily and weekly floor operations, resolving capacity conflicts, managing labor allocation, and maintaining production flow across work centers.
• Manage multi-shift operations (two to three shifts), ensuring consistent standards of safety, quality, and productivity across all shifts and appropriate supervisory coverage at all times.
• Monitor production metrics and take corrective action to maintain schedule adherence, throughput, quality, and labor utilization in alignment with targets and customer commitments.
• Ensure effective handoff of engineering designs, drawings, BOMs, and planning documentation from Freeberg headquarters engineering into production-ready planning packages executed at the Eloy facility.

Strategic Leadership and Financial Accountability

Serve as the senior business leader for the Eloy facility, accountable for operational performance and financial results. Key responsibilities include:

• Develop and manage the facility operating budget, including labor, overhead, materials, capital equipment, and departmental expenditures, ensuring spend is controlled and aligned with revenue and growth targets.
• Define, track, and report on key operational performance metrics including on-time delivery, first-pass quality yield, scrap and rework rates, labor productivity, safety performance, and schedule adherence—presenting results and improvement plans to the President on a regular cadence.
• Develop and execute the operational scaling roadmap as revenue grows, including capacity planning, staffing plans, capital investment priorities, and infrastructure development.
• Identify and drive continuous improvement initiatives across the facility to reduce lead times, improve quality, lower cost, and increase throughput as production volumes and product complexity increase.
• Communicate openly and proactively with headquarters leadership on operational status, risks, resource needs, and strategic opportunities; serve as the primary voice of the Eloy facility in company-wide planning discussions.

Qualifications

Required

• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in manufacturing operations, with at least 5 years in a senior operations leadership role (Director, VP of Operations, General Manager, or equivalent) with full P&L or budget accountability.
• Demonstrated experience leading a manufacturing facility from startup or early-stage operations through sustained growth, including hands-on involvement in hiring, process development, equipment commissioning, and culture building.
• Deep working knowledge of metal fabrication and assembly manufacturing processes, including at a minimum: laser cutting, press brake forming, welding and fabrication, paint and surface treatment, and electro-mechanical or mechanical assembly.
• Proven ability to manage large, diverse production workforces of 100 employees across multiple shifts and functional departments, with a track record of developing strong managers and building high-performance teams.
• Strong financial acumen with demonstrated experience developing and managing operational budgets, interpreting financial reports, and driving operational decisions that improve cost performance and profitability.
• Demonstrated knowledge and application of quality management systems, including ISO 9001, and the ability to lead a quality-driven operational culture.
• Strong working knowledge of workplace safety requirements and the ability to build and sustain a safety-first operational culture in compliance with OSHA and applicable regulations.
• Proficiency with ERP systems for production management, scheduling, inventory, and reporting; experience managing ERP implementation, adoption, or optimization is a plus.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and organizational skills; ability to operate effectively in a fast-growing, entrepreneurial environment with limited initial infrastructure and high ambiguity.
• Ability to work on-site full-time in Eloy, Arizona and travel periodically to Freeberg headquarters in Escondido, California.

Preferred

• Bachelor's degree in Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management, Business Administration, or a related field; advanced degree (MBA, MS) a plus.
• Experience manufacturing complex electro-mechanical equipment such as power generation systems, engine-driven equipment packages, or industrial capital equipment.
• Experience with aerospace or defense manufacturing quality systems including AS9100 Rev D, NADCAP, or DCMA requirements.
• Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, or other formal continuous improvement certification (Black Belt, Master Black Belt, or equivalent).
• Experience operating within a multi-site manufacturing organization with engineering design authority centralized at a headquarters location.
• OSHA 30-hour certification.
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) is advantageous given workforce demographics in the Eloy, AZ region.